Thread: Unmotivated Laborers

We have exactly the same problem over here.<br>We have roughly 800k people out of work in a<br>population of 20 million.Half those people<br>wouldn't work in an iron lung.They get more<br>money on the dole than out EARNING their pay.<br>On average I fire an empoyee once every 2<br>weeks,cos as soon as I turn my back they are<br>standing around talking or sitting on their<br>asses.And they wonder why I get so pissed off.They think they should be paid to do<br>nothing.If assault didn't hav such a heavy<br>penalty I would kick the crap out of some<br>of these dick-heads.<br>Sorry to sound so irate but this is a topic<br>that always sends me off the deep end.<br>

lanelle, I agree with you. Todays worker is better than ever. The problem that I see is that todays teacher doesn't have the skills to teach tommorrows worker. For example, my teachers and parents couldn't teach me about computers. Todays teachers aren't teaching our children about how to use spreadsheets to buy things, because they don't know themselves. The speed of our communications has dramatically increased and this is causing confusion in what skills are needed for tommorrow. My grandfather cut grass with a horse drawn reel mower. He taught me how to do it and it is hard work, but I wouldn't waste my time trying to teach my grandson the same skills, he needs to know robots, GPS, and electronics. <br>When you are critical of todays worker, they become disillusioned real fast. Ask yourself,do you want to work for a boss that thinks you are not as good as the last person who held that job. You instanly know that you are not going anywhere because the boss perceives you are no good.<br>Are there any unmotivated laborers at Microsoft? Listen to Bill Gates the next time he speaks, he says &quot;OUR PEOPLE&quot;. He values that lowly programmer

I think part of the labor laziness prob. is why I still work mostly by myself.<br>It's harder & harder to find decent workers. Most want comp. wage with benefits, & a controlled environment-sounds great in the winter in between snowplowings.<br>But we can't be too critical-after all, isn't that why alot of us went to self employment? Cuz we were tired of working to make someone else wealthy for a wage determined & locked in by others? WE broke free to do our own thing. You'll never find anyone willing to work as hard as YOU to make YOUR dreams come true; everyone works to make THEIR dreams come true, why should they kill themselves to make someone else wealthy (sound familiar?). Spouse or family is closest you can come to finding true dedicated workers, & sometimes that doesn't work either.<br>On the whole, I totally agree that todays kids aint got the slightest clue of what work is. I have no desire to train people to do it how I want it. then fire them after a week or 2, & train half the people in town, & create my own competition.<br> Work for todays' youth seems to be just something to keep you busy while enjoying the social atmosphere while making a mediocre wage to boot. Then spend that $15 at the mall on Sat. God help them when they have to support a family!<br>Alot of it falls on the parents too. My folks never really hit me with a strong work ethic, but I was far from lazy. I didn't get my inner drive to be successful until my early 20's. By then I was already 5 yrs. too late. But better late than never. <br>My best advice is find teens/adults who aren't always at the mall. The more conservative types (like little house on the prairie) seem to work better than those who talk too much, but that is a generalization. Those who've worked on farms know what work is.<br>If you can, pick from people you know; that'll put you further ahead than to hire someone & then find out what kind of worker they are. Good luck 'yall.<p>----------<br>Smitty ô¿ô<p>

One place you might find decent young part time help is at the high school level, check the ag dept. Usually these kids have a little desire to get dirty and may become farmers, landscapers etc.<p>Homer

I second what guido and homer said respectively. Problem with kids---&gt;parents. No ifs ands or buts about it. I was raised on a farm where we grew 60+ acres of tobacco. And there was no sitting on my *ss either. We worked long days and missed out on a lot of things as youngsters. Do I agree with the kind of upbringing? No, you shouldn't have to work like that. We put in 80 hour work weeks in the summer months and that is no lie. I also started working when I was 4-5 yr old. Not real hard but I was out there being active. Nevertheless, it is good to instill some sort of work ethic in your children. Kids these days don't know the value of a dollar and that is their problem. Look at all these kids walking around with cell phones, its a disgrace. Only thing we can do is teach our own kids and let them learn. As homer said, lots of lawn care companies don't attack the high school ag dept. or for that manner the college ag schools. As a current student in an ag. college, lots of kids are working for the school for measly 6-7 dolares per hour. The only thing you need to be aware of here is flexibility. But trust me once they are out of school for the summer they will bust their hump for you.<p>----------<br>Integrated Landscape Solutions<br>Lexington, KY

I'm not quite sure what I'm trying to say, but, do you think that instead of paying our workers an hourly wage, with very little hope for them, (in the sense of there long term hopes and desires), could we do something like paying them for the amount of work they get done in a week. It creates an open ended ticket. The more growth and amount of work being done, the more money they can make. I realize this is not a new concept, but how to implement it into our work is my question?

Good reliable employees are always hard to find. One thing I try to instill in my employees is that I'm not looking just for &quot;workers&quot; but rather employees. When Im speaking of them to other people and they are around I always say that we work together and never that they work FOR me. I want them to feel like they work for themselves and take pride in their work. I 've had problems. I had a foreman who worked for me for 3 years w/ absolutely no problems, then one day he just vanished. It threw me into a tailspin.<br>But you know what? Its all part of having your own business. Labor problems are just something we as business owners have to take into consideration. Just like when the equipment breaks down and has to be fixed. I would still rather deal with the problems then have to go out and work for somebody else.

Several years ago I worked for a pest control co that paid us $800.00 a month plus bonus. We made a percentage of what we did. It worked well then some months I cleared 2500.00. So that is what I have done in the past when Ive needed help. Ive told them that I'd pay them xx.xx per day and if we had a good day they would get more. It has worked on some ocassions and on others it hasnt. They soon find out that when they break a piece of equipment and we have to shut down for repairs it cost them money too. So the rewards have been many. I suprised the hell out of one fellow one day when we had had a relly great week when I gave him 100.00 bonus. No break downs just a bustin week. I had made well he made well. Share the wealth kinda deal. I know it will work on some lawns and not others but done weekly they all figure in the same. <br>If I can average say 200.00 per day by myself, and have a helper and can average 300.00 per day less 50.00 per day wages, he has made me an extra 50.00 per day so why not give him an extra 25.00 per day and he'll want to keep it up, because his pocket book will be thicker and yours too when he works well. But they wont be when he dosent want to work. ( I used the figures for ease of display only)<br>If you send them out on a job alone and their work isnt up to par they must redo it on their own time, make this VERY understood to the point of in writing. It works for Kubota tractors so why not here. Just a thought I dont know how it'll work, when Ive used it in the past it worked well but I guess I'll just havto see.

Labor is hard to find good labor is almost a joke to find. As far as looking at the younger kids comeing up not a lot to look at. One MAIN PROBLEM IS THE SCHOOLS they look down on people like you and me the guys who get dirty. Schools in my area are doing away with shop class metals is gone. Casting is gone. I tell you what if they didnt have any shop class when I was in school I would never have gone to school. I worked in this trade while in high school then went to do it on the side when I went and did rough framing. My building trades teacher from school which is a good friend of mine now tells me how they have to fight to tell kids about the programs offered. The school doesnot want to push kids into dirty work. I had a chance to talk to a school programs director a little while back and as she told me theirs no future for kids to do labors work when they can make more doing less work. Well I know guys who have a master degrees and make less then I do. I have talked to buddy younger sibling that are just coming out of college that have HUGE bills to pay and can only find a job makeing $ 10 per hour. Then I hear from guys I grew up with that are in the trades telling me to come back into it since they are making $ 65 to 90 for 9 months a year. So the time is going towards computers and others but theirs even more money to be made in the trades do to the decline in kids going into it. Also that ONE other reason labor is getting harder to find. I had 2 guys leave me and go labor for a remodling co. Makeing $ 10 hour min. 55 hours per week and full time year round. So why would you want to work for $ 6 to 9 hour and get laid off in winter or have your hours cut down to 30 per week so they cant get their unemployement check??????? It makes no sense but it going to start to drive the prices up for US soon.